lesson planning

The idea that we lose knowledge over time is nothing new to the research stream of learners and learning. In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus created a formula for the exponential rate of ‘forgetting’ – as time moves forward we forget what we have learned. However, by repeatedly practising these skills, or refreshing our memory intermittently over time, we can increase the percentage of information remembered. There are of course variables, such as, the relative strength of memory – but as teachers this is something we are only acutely aware of in our everyday practice anyway.

It then seems crazy when we compare this stream of research (for which there is much) to how we teach in schools today. The trend of learning seems to be similar across most subjects and schools – teach a module, test a module, (record test result to demonstrate progress), move onto the next module. This process tends to be repeated (minus a few mock exams) until Easter prior to the examination period when we all suddenly start revising with gusto.

When considering writing the new specifications surely we should be reducing our emphasis on modular learning, and beginning to focus more on continuous themes of learning. The exam boards are trying to improve the clarity of command words and become clearer in the expectations of the students. We need to use this to our advantage and train the students – slowly and over time – as to how to answer exam questions and build up their content knowledge. This is the perfect time to introduce ‘spaced-learning’ into the schemes of work.

The concept of ‘spaced-learning’ is to continually refer back to previous material to ‘top-up’ and keep on top of the students learning, thus limiting the amount of forgetting.

So how do we implement ‘spaced-learning’ without rocking the boat?

I will be introducing this concept to my year 10 GCSE classes. Every third week (10th lesson) I will leave the SOW and interject with a random exam-focussed lesson. It will be random in the sense that it could be from any ‘module’ we have studied. However, it will also be carefully planned to help develop the general skills required for the exams focussing heavily on the higher valued command words – assess, evaluate, analyse, justify etc.

I have done this previously by presenting the exam question; think-pair-share to decipher the requirements of the question and develop a structure/plan. Students then used any resources they wished to help build up their knowledge; working in groups on poster paper. Students prompted to focus on the command word and develop their higher order thinking as a group. Finally, the students write the answer in full individually to be peer assessed.

Other ideas to develop ‘spaced-learning’:

There will be so many techniques used in the classroom already. The concept it to ensure these techniques are spaced out over-time, or repeated intermittently.

Kahoot quiz’s (could be re-used over time)

Google classroom tests; so no teacher marking is required. Again these could be repeated intermittently over-time (a great way to demonstrate progress).

Home learning past paper questions from previous ‘modules’.

Student workbook with questions and tasks with various due dates to forward plan the ‘spaced-learning’.

Stick in questions or tasks during the course of teaching to be left and reviewed in a few weeks/months’ time.

Peer/self-assess tasks a few weeks/ months after they have been completed by students.

Setting a weekly ‘review-style’ home learning task consolidating the content of the week.

Delay student response to teacher marking. Students could reply to detailed teacher questions 2-3 weeks after completing the work, therefore allowing them to stretch their memory.

The general idea is to ensure we are continuously reviewing concepts and ideas to slow the rate of forgetting. During a busy teaching schedule and with tight deadlines to complete units of work it can be tough to make time for this type of learning. However, it is important to note that the literature points heavily towards the benefits of ‘spaced-learning’.

This is something I am beginning to implement with my exam classes… I will let you know how it progresses. If you have any other ideas for how to implement this in the classroom please let me know – I’d love to have more ideas.

I am using some ideas from “Teaching Backwards”. I always plan my lessons with the end goal in sight. However, this book suggested getting students to audit where they are, as well as thinking about any previous knowledge they have, transferable skills etc. I made the attached sheet for my Year 9 class and will read their responses when I mark their books later this week. I am hoping that I will be able to provide some independent activities that support some of the areas that they have highlighted.

by Kyl Messios

I have been using Beaumont School resources to explore questioning across the key stages. I’ve been working from the Black Box and the Teaching and Learning blog. It has been brilliant to go through the wealth of ideas that other teachers suggested in the Questioning Quail inset activity, and I’ve tried out quite a few.

If this is the answer, what is the question?

This has been really useful, wherever I’ve applied it. I’ve tried it with Year 7, 10, and 13, and found that the result is consistent, regardless of year group of topic – the students are compelled to look at the answer from different angles and think much more deeply about it than they would with a straightforward ‘key question’ to start the lesson. This can be applied as a starter, but is just as effective as a plenary. Year 7s used it to identify and define subject specific vocabulary, while I used it with Year 10s as a way into a new scheme of work. Looking ahead, I plan to use it with Year 13s to get them identifying and creating exam questions based upon answers given.

Percentage correct

Quick and easy way of getting students to build upon, and add to, their own and others’ answers. This was put to good use in Year 9 and 10 evaluations.

I’m planning on trying out What’s in the Bag?, but just haven’t yet worked out what to put in the bag! I’ll keep you updated!

The principle of this group is to for members to experiment with new ideas and then share their experience with their colleagues and the wider teaching community. We draw on various resources on rotation. The aim is to celebrate and share approaches that can be used by staff in a variety of subjects easily within day-to-day teaching.

My task for term one was to focus on feedback, drawing on websites as a resource. I decided to experiment with my A2 Sports Psychology group. These students struggle with long answer responses and, as a result, their drive to improve their performance in this area can dip due to a lack in confidence; some feel that reaching higher grades is just not possible for them. When I have marked these responses in the past I have often found misconceptions in one or two aspects which have a significant impact on their final grade. Motivating this group to respond to my feedback independently is not easy. I feel this process is essential and I had been looking for a simple way to motivate them to do so.

During my research I found a post on www.teachertoolkit.com called ‘The Yellow Box’, which had been taken from The George Spencer Academy. Employing this strategy allows the teacher to mark a section of work in great detail, highlight that to the student via the yellow box. Feedback is then provided, focusing on the work in the yellow box only. The hope is the guidance given will have a positive impact on the entire piece of work without the teacher having to mark to entire piece in detail.

I have employed this method in a different way to meet the needs of my group. I have been marking the entire long answer questions as per normal. Instead of asking students to re-write or apply my feedback to the entire response which can be demotivating for a student who struggled to complete the work in the first instance; they only re-write the work highlighted in the yellow box in response to my feedback. Students approach responding to my feedback more readily, they are learning to identify areas within long answer questions that have a significantly negative impact on the entire piece and the work they produce in response to my feedback is focused on quality not quantity. This also saves me time when remarking work; in most cases the work in the yellow box that has been re- written by the students increases the grade of the piece, and also increases the confidence of my students when approaching a difficult aspect of assessment in this course.

Over the next few weeks other members of Nat’s focus group will feedback on everyday ideas that they have tried and tested. Keep checking back for more ideas!

December at Beaumont started with a flurry of gifts from Santa. Each teacher picked a present from Santa’s helpers and was given the challenge to use their present during a lesson in December. Below includes some of the wonderful ways these presents were used and includes a range of ideas which can be applied to other lessons and other subjects.

Present: coloured stars

In music the bright coloured stars were used in essay planning. The big stars represented the basic points, the small stars were used for examples and the medium stars were used for other aspects that would make the essay successful e.g. structure. With the spare starts the students played guess the composer!

Present: clothes pegs

In a Biology Year 12 class students had 3 pieces of coloured paper and wrote down a question on each worth 1,2 or 3 marks. Students used the clothes peg to peg the questions on the line. Students then picked a set of questions form the line and answered the questions on the back of the pieces of paper. The questions were returned to the original student and marked.

Present: masks

In Maths the teacher explained to the class that the mask was a symbol of showing that the person is scared from Maths. So, instead of hiding behind the mask the students were encouraged to join in and be at his or her best.

Present: slingshot and £10 note napkins

In German students had to hit a number on the grid then go to the numbers on the floor and write the most extended sentence they could in German on that topic. Four £10 notes were given to the longest answers that used everything we’d done this half term.

Present: a set of coloured pens

In Literacy Support the coloured pens were used by the students to improve and comment on a piece of written work. The green pens were used for ‘polishing’ and to add punctuation, the red was used to highlight a brilliant opening or use of key words and blue to identify connectives. The pink pen was used to identify something the students needed to work on.

Present: bubbles

In Science the bubbles were used to explain the process of convection.

Present: mini cups and medals

In Music the mini cups and medals were awarded to students who had completed the best improvisation.

Present: a X-ray poster showing parts of the body

In Spanish the poster was used for revision of body parts. Students wrote down the key body parts on Post-it notes and then came up to the poster and stuck them on in the correct place.

Present: a ball of wool

In English the ball of wool was used to represent the connections between different events in the text (Bog Child). The web allowed students to identify some insightful interpretations and enabled them to understand the complexities of the text.

Present: a tub of Playdoh

In Science the Playdoh was used by Year 11 to model enzymes.

Present: Pom Poms

In Year 8 Spanish the students had written poems about their teachers and subjects. When they were read out the students shook the pom poms every time they said something which touched on the grammar they had been learning in the last two lessons.

Present: £20 note napkins

The notes were used in Maths to help with a lesson calculating percentages. The students had to complete a variety of exercises working out the different percentages of £20 and the napkins were given as prizes.

The appeal of the Teaching and Learning “Bring and Buy” doesn’t seem to fade. (read all about the format of the first one here). This time, Zoe Shepherd requested staff to send any useful revision resources they had used or created which could then be shared with the staff who popped along to Room 6 at lunchtime. The “Beaumont Buck” given to all staff in their pigeon-hole was placed in the envelope of their favourite resource of the day, and everyone who attended completed a shopping list of the resources which they would like emailed to them later.

I am a much happier soul when I am working with others. Sharing my thoughts and listening to the much better ideas other people have. At the right time it can be an unbelievably useful teaching strategy but group work still scares people. Do not be afraid – get involved.

Group work can be the most rewarding yet stressful of activities for teachers and students alike. Teachers can worry about classroom management and the activity being ‘worth it’. Students can be concerned about who they will work with and what they will be asked to do. As a Drama teacher this is my bread and butter, the most essential part of my planning to ensure the best outcomes for my students. Over the years I have observed a lot of lessons in all subject areas and developed my own practice so that I do the right thing at the right time. So here are a few of my top tips for group work.

Until you are confident that you know and understand the class do not let them choose who they work with. You can destroy the self-esteem of the student who is left out.

Decide what you want out of the task and then select the groups so that you get the outcome you want.

Allocate roles and expect every child to play an active part in the group task.

Use different methods to put students into groups so that it is interesting – jigsaws, lolly sticks, birthdays, numbers, ability, gender.

Think about it and don’t leave it to the last minute to make your decisions.

This is what other Beaumont staff have to say:

Ed Panting (PE): “I try to use coaches / experts to lead small groups for reinforcement of basic skills. For example working in groups of 4-6 I might use a basketball team player to ‘coach/teach’ the rest of the group to lay the ball up, that team then goes into game play against the other groups. The team stay together for the activity unit so the leader has time to develop his team. By adding in the competitive element I find the leaders really invest in their team because the better they teach them the more likely they are to win in the games. Everyone benefits; bottom end get more direct feedback and coaching than if it just came from one source so tend to make better progress; top end are reinforcing and enriching their knowledge by delivering the information in a way that less able pupils can access. It also develops skills for success and general social skills.”

Susan Kent (Geography): “Give them a large piece of sugar paper to make notes on during their discussion, and a different coloured pen each to ensure everyone takes part by the end of the discussion the sugar paper must have every colour pen on it. If possible have your seating plan arranged in a way that means group working is easy ie. four in the same row/behind in front of each other which means mixed ability/boy & girl mix is easy to do.”

Liz Cleverley (PSHE and Maths): “Make it clear if there are defined roles so the group can use the strengths of individuals. Use a visual countdown timer – if they get lost in a task they can lose track of time. Mix the genders and also SEND and gifted students.”

I had seen pictures on Twitter of people using Jenga in Languages lessons and thought it would be a fun thing to do. Having raided the toy cupboard at home for the Jenga set, I wrote a number on each of the blocks in permanent marker. Next, I prepared a numbered sheet of questions (54) to revise some of the vocabulary and structures my class needed to work on. As pupils came in and realised they would be playing Jenga, they were very excited and I was slightly concerned at how much learning would happen. However, I needn’t have worried. If anything, behaviour was better than usual as they were highly motivated and were fixated on the Jenga game so were less likely to become distracted. Each time someone removed a block, they had to find the question which had the same number and answer it. The level of peer support was very high as pupils wanted to get on with the game, so everyone tried to help in getting the answer right. In conclusion, everyone was happy. There was very little preparation for me. The students were motivated and therefore had a go at more difficult questions than they would otherwise have done in a traditional lesson.

I am going to buy a few more sets of this so that a whole class can play at once!